Through his spokesman, President Obama sent out a statement this week expressing condolences to family members of the Australian baseball star who was attending college in Oklahoma when he was shot and killed in a random act of violence.
Three male youths, ages 15, 16 and 17, have been arrested for the killing, which occurred while Christopher Lane, 22, was jogging in the streets of Oklahoma. One of the suspects reportedly told police the shooting was due to boredom, various media reported.
The incident has sparked outrage for its randomness — but also for its sidebar race-relations story. Two of the teen suspects are black; the victim was white. Some have posed the question: Where are the activists and politicos who accused George Zimmerman of shooting Trayvon Martin simply because he was black? Most recently, in that months-old case, former Secretary of State Colin Powell called Mr. Zimmerman’s not-guilty verdict “questionable” and asked that Mr. Obama do more to speak about issues involving race.
Mr. Obama’s statement, attributed to White House spokesman Matt Lehrich, was published in the Australian newspaper The Herald Sun.
“As the president has expressed on too many tragic occasions, there is an extra measure of evil in an act of violence that cuts a young life short. The president and first lady’s thoughts and prayers are with Chris Lane’s family and friends in these trying times,” the statement read, as NBC reported.
Charged with first-degree murder are James Francis Edwards Jr., 15, and Chancey Allen Luna, 16. The third youth, Michael Dewayne Jones, 17, was charged with firing a weapon and being an accessory to murder after the fact. All three were charged as adults.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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